How do you know what occasion to use a scent for?

Hello everyone, I am Adam Horn from North Carolina. *I'm 21 and going to App State. *I've been reading Basenotes for a couple months (mostly reviews, and not so much the forum). *This is my first post, so here it goes!

I'm curious about how you guys decide what occasion a particular fragrance is to be used for? *I mean I can get a pretty good guess by reading all the reviews on the net, and many online stores will directly say &quot;reccommended for casual wear&quot;, etc. *But many times there are several different reccommendations for a particular fragrance. *For example, I have seen Ungaro III reccommended for daytime, evening, casual and romantic wear on different sites.

Of course I'm sure I'm making a big deal of nothing, and perhaps the occassion a fragrance should be used for has as much to do with skin chemistry and personality as anything else... *But are there any tips I can use to make the decision for myself?

Just so you know, my personal collection consists of:
Caesar's Man by Caesar's Palace
By by Dolce and Gabbana
Black Jeans by Versace
Egoiste by Chanel
Cool Water by Davidoff
Caswell Massey No. 6
...and some others that aren't quite as exciting.

My personal favorite is By, but I don't wear it as often as I would like because I feel it is inappropriate for class and what not. *Maybe I'm wrong?

I have Ungaro III and Yatagan coming in the mail tomorrow (I can't wait!!)

Re: How do you know what occasion to use a scent f

Welcome aboard! *This is a great question, and one that hasn't been asked much here. *There is no easy answer to this, my only advice is to not get locked into others impressions and wear it for what you see fit. *Much like with the seasonal wearing of scents, there's no easy answer and it's a very personal choice. *Don't worry about what others think a scent is good for, if it makes you feel comfortable in it and YOU like it, then wear away. *As a rule of thumb, daytime scents tend to be lighter with less sillage. *Evening scents tend to be the heavier stuff. *That isn't a hard/fast rule though. *I would be curious to see others opinions about either notes or classifications and their wearability in certain situations, but having a fairly sizable collection, I've come to find that I wear what I wear when I want to. *Don't worry about it and enjoy the scent for what it is. * Again, this is a great question. *I look forward to hearing your opinions on scents

P.S. By Man is a very underrated scent....looks like it's going to be my SOTD. *

Re: How do you know what occasion to use a scent f

Hey Adam,

I am a North Carolinian also (Greensboro) and a grad of NC State, class of many years ago when you were in kindergarten! Just want to welcome you to basenotes. I have been lurking around for just a few weeks, but have learned a lot from these &quot;smell pros&quot;. I know there are scents that are casual, office, school, formal, daytime, evening, romantic, break-up, make-up, etc. Some of the other posters will set you straight on what's appropriate to wear in various situations, but I will leave that to them. I just wear what I like. You will love your Ungaro III and will really get a lot of comps from others.

Again, good to have another &quot;Tarheel&quot; (God, I can't believe I said that word) on board.

Re: How do you know what occasion to use a scent f

To be honest, there is no way to really tell. Obviously some fragrances are more suited for seasons and what not but seriously, wear what YOU feel like wearing - that is, if you can pull it off.

People say Ungaro III is a romantic scent. I can see myself wearing it on a date but, to be honest, I probably wouldn't. I wear Ungaro III on rainy days and when I go out. It has two personalities to me: a melancholic one, and one that urges me to socialize. It really depends on my mood when I put it on.

Don't let anyone tell you what to wear or what not to - if you like it, go for it. Even if it's AdG haha..

Re: How do you know what occasion to use a scent f

rite on,ungaro III is a great scent.
as for what occasion to use a scent for,
I don't stress about it,wear what my heart
desires.
what's important to me is to wear scents that
I am comfortable wearing.

Re: How do you know what occasion to use a scent f

Generally there's no rule except &quot;if you're comfortable wearing it, then go for it&quot;.
Many of us choose to put on a scent according to the mood, other choose the scent that best match the dress or other...
For sure the main factor is the weather and specially heat&amp;humidity. Other factors are so subjective and fuzzy that are hard to tell rationally.
For example many people can find voleur de roses not suited for work, but, not working in a so formal ambient, I sometimes wear it without problem. Another important general rule I can recommend is moderation.
However I sometimes even don't know why, exactly go for a particular scent... ;D

Re: How do you know what occasion to use a scent f

Like all the others say, it will ultimately depend on you, I think. For me I can wear Kouros anytime any season but I find D&amp;G for daytime to be weird, which itself is weird because Kouros is much heavier scent and D&amp;G PH is much lighter. Ungaro III for me is definitely a romantic scent because of its dark/sensual overtones. And I find all the aquatic fresh scents to be impossible to wear in the evening.

Re: How do you know what occasion to use a scent f

Judging by my personal experience, &quot;scent appropriateness&quot; depends very much on our present state of emotions.
That is why seasons, time of day, our state of mind, and prior scent associations all contribute so strongly to the scents we're attracted to.

Time of day: People tend to wear &quot;dark scents&quot; for their nighttime activities.

Scent association: Majority of the people who have come into contact with the scent of Oud will associate it with a reflective, and a meditative state of mind -- most likely as a result of its heavy use during religious cermonies.

The next time you have that delighted feeling of wearing a scent that seems &quot;just right&quot; for you, take the time to analyze your state of mind, and emotions to see why that is the case.

The main reason why I left my quest for finding &quot;a perfect signature scent&quot; was that I came to the understanding that with so many rich human emotions, there can never be just one perfect scent. But rather, a group of scents which could best exemplify my feelings during any one moment.

This revelation also helped me to understand why there're so many Basenoters with such large inventories of fragrances -- it is our way of searching for perfection in its many glories.

Re: How do you know what occasion to use a scent f

Welcome!!!

My approach to judging appropriateness of fragrances runs something like this. I arise in the morning, and ponder Descartes or other philosophers perhaps for a moment or too, then realize that I am alive (ergo sum), and that all my fragrances are suitable for living humans. If not human on awakening, usually a shave, shower, clothes, and coffee render me that way soon enough. If my medical skepticism rears up, I may check my pulse and a few other things to confirm that I am a living man, and then any fragrance is fair game.

I stubbornly refuse to believe that anyone else is more fit to judge what will smell best to me on me at any given time or any given situation. I would venture to say that the value of your experience in what you have been learning and your own experience with your owned fragrances makes YOU the expert (yes, you!) It's college, time to experiment, try wearing scents where YOU think they may be appropriate, and check the results--how did you feel, did anyone notice, compliments, wrinkled noses? Try where you think they will NOT be appropriate, and see what happens then. Take notes. Share with us your experiences. The conventional wisdom does not always apply.

Re: How do you know what occasion to use a scent f

As a guidance, just in other areas of life, take into consideration other people who will be sniffing the sillage of your scent for hours, perhaps all day, even for months at a workplace. Given the passionate and opposite reviews in case of lots of fragrances, you must be aware that possibly there will be people who will not like, even will hate your Holy Grail Scent. Don't be a nuisance to anybody with your scent.